Blue Friend was created by Fumi Eban [ja],[1] who wrote the story with the idea of the protagonist coming in contact with characters who have an immature or inexperienced image of social detachment; this is also where the title is derived from, as "blue" (青い, aoi) can metaphorically mean "inexperienced" in Japanese, similarly to "green" in English.

[3] The concept of the mysterious girl Misuzu immediately came to Eban when she decided on the theme; she commented that she has a preference as a creator for female characters who are "slightly odd".

[20] Shueisha later published Nijiiro no Kanojo in the first Japanese volume of Eban's 2015 manga Seishun wa Zombie Deshita on July 25, 2016.

[21][22] According to Natalie, Blue Friend drew attention among readers for being a yuri story serialized in Ribon;[1] they noted an increase of yuri works in magazines targeted at girls, with manga like Blue Friend and Marimo Shirasawa's Maidens in the Forest of Field Rose [ja][d] both premiering in 2010.

[24] The German magazine Animania [de] praised the story for its drama and "well-placed climaxes", as well as the "sensitive" portrayal of comedic and tender moments between the protagonists.